An Indian Navy ship has assisted a Panama-flagged oil tanker that had come under attack from Houthi militants on April 26. In a post on X, the Indian Navy wrote: “The MV was intercepted by Indian Navy warship & an aerial recce by helo was undertaken to assess the situation. The shipborne EOD team was deployed onboard MV for residual risk assessment. A total of 30 crew (including 22 Indian nationals) are reported to be safe and the vessel is continuing its scheduled transit to the next port.”
Confirming the news, Navy officials said the INS Kochi, a destroyer deployed by the Indian Navy responded following the attack on the tanker, MV Andromeda Star, officials said. All the 30 crew members, including 22 Indians, are safe, they reported.
Earlier, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said that the Iranian-backed Houthi militants launched three anti-ship ballistic missiles from Yemen into the Red Sea in the vicinity of merchant vessel Maisha and MV Andromeda Star. MV Andromeda Star is a Panaman-flagged and Seychelles-operated vessel. The vessel had reported minor damage in the attack, the US Central Command said.
“A mission deployed Indian Naval destroyer INS Kochi responded to a maritime security incident involving the attack on Panama-flagged crude oil tanker MV Andromeda Star on April 26,” the Indian Navy said. The vessel was intercepted by the ship and an aerial recce involving a helicopter operation was undertaken to assess the situation, it said.
Heightened activity in the Red Sea and just across the coast of Africa poses threats to the country’s western and southern coastline. The Indian Navy has already acted upon these threats with two warships on station in the Gulf of Aden and 10 warships in the Arabian Sea, one of the largest deployment of Indian vessels in the region.
(With inputs from agencies)
